In an attempt to kick 2018 off on a healthy foot, I'm hosting a sugar detox in January and I would be so thrilled if you joined in!

When does the sugar detox start?

January 1st - January 30th

What does a January sugar detox look like?

For 30 days I'm going to avoid all forms of sweetener --- natural, artificial, and refined.

Wait, but aren't natural sweeteners totally cool?

I am totally cool with natural sweeteners in moderation, BUT they are still sugar. Technically natural sweeteners ARE better for you, because they're natural, BUT they still spike blood sugar levels and can leave us hung over in an afternoon slump if we don't manage their use wisely. I also wanted to include the aversion of natural sugars in this detox because when we detox from sugar, but simply replace our evening refined sugar cookie with cookies made from maple syrup, our body and brain aren't really going to learn that they don't need to depend on a sugar source. Moral of the story, natural sugar isn't bad, but in order to fully reap the benefits of the sugar detox, I'm cutting them out too.

But what about fruit?

A line must be drawn somewhere, so for me I am totally cool with eating fruits during the sugar detox. Both dried and fresh are fine, but read your labels because a lot of times dried fruit can be loaded with added sugar.

How do I KNow if a food contains added sugar?

Read your food labels. Ideally most of your food is going to come from your kitchen, so you'd know exactly what was in it, BUT that is certainly not real life 100% of the time, so look at the ingredient lists on food labels to see if that food contains sugar. If you're dining out, a lot of restaurants list their ingredients online so take a look before you head out to dine. What makes things a bit tricky is that sugar can go by A LOT of different names. Here are a list of a few that you should be aware of. If an ingredient list contains any of the below ingredients, then it is not free of sugar and isn't compliant for this sugar detox.

Fructose

Sugar

Beet sugar

Blackstrap molasses

Brown sugar

Buttered syrup

Cane juice crystals

Cane sugar

Caramel

Carob syrup

Castor sugar

Coconut sugar

Confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

Date sugar

Demerara sugar

Evaporated cane juice

Florida crystals

Fruit juice

Fruit juice concentrate

Golden sugar

Golden syrup

Grape sugar

Honey

Icing sugar

Invert sugar

Maple syrup

Molasses

Muscovado sugar

Panela sugar

Raw sugar

Refiner's syrup

Sorghum syrup

Sucanat

Treacle sugar

Turbinado sugar

Yellow sugar

Agave Nectar

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Barley malt

Brown rice syrup

Corn syrup

Corn syrup solids

Dextrin

Dextrose

Diastatic malt

Ethyl maltol

Glucose

Glucose solids

Lactose

Malt syrup

Maltodextrin

Maltose

Rice syrup

Crystalline fructose

Brown sugar

Buttered syrup

Why would you cut out sugar for 30 days?

Sugar is addicting. It tastes good and temporarily sends your brain signals that make it super happy. Unfortunately though, after that super intense happy feeling comes a lethargic dip in energy. I know that sugar has a strong hold, both physically and emotionally, on so many people's lives and I wanted to create a space where people felt motivated to take a step towards gaining control of what they put in their mouth as well as give myself a source of accountability in this journey. Although I wouldn't say my sugar consumption currently is at it's all time high (it has been real crazy at times!), I still feel that I could benefit from resetting my body and regaining awareness of how prevalent sugar is in foods.

Wait, Does this mean I should never eat sugar again?

Committing to this detox for 30 days does NOT mean that you should never, ever consume sugar again. My hope is that by completing the 30 day detox you will become more aware of the amount of added sugar in food and find that you feel amazing without it, but I am all for balance and am totally into having a donut now and then (when you are not doing the detox).

How to be successful during the 30 Days

1. Know that you might start to feel bad before you feel good. And by "might" I mean "you will." That is an unfortunately reality. As any detox process goes (whether form drugs, alcohol, etc.) there is a period of feeling bad (read: terrible). The severity of that feeling corresponds with the amount of sugar that you were consuming prior to the detox. So the more sugar you were consuming, the likely the more severe your detox symptoms will be.

2. Read your food labels! There is sugar in so many hidden places.

3. Cook as many meals from home as you can. Knowing the ingredients that you are putting into your food will make it so much easier to follow through with the sugar detox.

4. Most importantly though, do your best and do not let the guidelines discourage your from trying your hardest to cut out or limit your sugar consumption. You've got this!

Leave any questions you might have in the comment section! If you would like to join the challenge, sign-up for my email list (right corner of this page) and you can stay updated with all of the sugar-less recipes I'll be posting in January.

I have to confess to having bought zero gifts for Christmas yet. When November rolls around I always swear that this will be the year that I nail down everyone's gifts by Black Friday, but inevitably the times comes and goes and the week before Christmas I'm using Amazon prime like it's a lifeline. So if you're still in the market for some gifts, I've got you covered.

Getting and giving gifts is so much fun! Sometimes after the holidays settle down though, we realize that some of the gifts we gave (and received) aren't as useful or necessary as they seemed. They end up tucked inside a closet to inevitably thrown out. To hopefully move one step closer to stopping this unnecessary cycle I've rounded up a list of 20 health and wellness related gifts. I absolutely LOVE practical gifts and I especially love practical gifts that enhance my health and wellness! This list includes a wide range of prices, but all are under $70. I hope that you find something to lets that loved one know that you care and that you want them to be their best selves in 2018.

I hope that you are all staying warm during this dreadfully cold week in Chicago. We were fortunate to have two days where the temperature got above 40 degrees, which seriously felt like a heatwave, but it looks like the weather is headed back towards being cold. My heart is longing for summer, like real bad. I'm having vivid day dreams about laying on the beach and drinking iced coffee pretty much every day. Please tell me I am not the only one that feels like Winter is dragging on and on. All suggestions on how to survive this winter are welcomed.

Last week I added in a few exciting beauty splurges to my routine after a friend gifted me a few of the products from her recently launched body care line and it really gave me just the pick-me-up I needed. I am so excited to be partnering with the local company Salt by TMH to bring a little mid-winter cheer to a few of you readers as well.

Salt by TMH is in it's very early stages, but is already seeing a lot of success. My friend, Taryn, is the owner and creator of the company and I could not have been more thrilled when she offered to collaborate on a Giveaway for the blog. Salt by TMH is a line of body care products and essential oil remedies. The products are made with organic ingredients and are very reasonably priced!

My favorite so far is the peppermint foot soak. It's seriously heaven. The sugar lip scrub followed by the minty lips lip pot will help ease the dryness that this winter brings. Breathe, the essential oil remedy, has been a great go-to whenever I'm feeling slightly anxious. I haven't always been super into believing in the power of essential oils, but I'm starting to see that some of them could be beneficial to me, especially when it comes to combatting anxiety. I love that Salt by TMH offers pre-mixed oil combinations to help with specific problems.

If you're looking for a little pampering to help you through this winter, look no further. Currently the only way to purchase these products is directly from Taryn or through facebook or via email at saltbytma@gmail.com. She offers all of the items listed below as well as custom orders.

Peppermint Foot Soak (4 oz) - $5 *

Scrub a Latte Coffee Sugar Scrub (4 oz) - $8

Sugar Lips Lip Scrub - $3

Lip Pot Minty Lips - $3

Breathe Essential Oil Remedy - $8

Rest and Relax Lavender Bath Soak (8 oz) - $8, (15oz) - $15 *

*sample size pictured

The giveaway includes a bedtime essential oil roller and a coconut lip pod. To be entered into the giveaway please comment on this post with two things that you are doing to survive winter AND share this post on Facebook. A winner will be chosen Monday January 16th, 2017 at Midnight central time. U.S. residents only.

When I was in high-school one of my friends told me that I liked to seem like I was busy. I think I put my hand on my hip, stuck my nose up at him, and said in what I'm certain, was a very sassy tone, "No I don't!"

This conversation makes me laugh now though, because he was so right. Even as a high-school student I relished in the idea of being busy. I strived to always look busy, because being busy meant that you were important and who doesn't want to be important.

This seemingly childlike idea followed me into adulthood. I thought that if I was constantly taking phone calls, responding to emails, and rushing from point A to point B that my value in society was made evident. If I was busy, I was important. The two went hand in hand in my head. Slowing down meant lacking in value and I didn't want to lack in value, so I never slowed down.

I feel like the busier and busier I have become as an adult though the less and less appealing it has become and the less and less I've felt it's defining hold on me, because unlike what my high-school self thought, being busy does not make you more important. I would dare to say that perhaps what we are really conveying to those around you when you're rushing around is your insecurities and misplaced values.

I want to challenge you (and me!!) to stop trying to look or be busy, and to slow down, to stop and smell the roses, to be present and to enjoy being present.

My friend, Patricia, and I were talking about hiking the other day and I described my mindset when hiking with her. I told her that when I go hiking I am getting from point A to point B. I appreciate the exercise and will try to get to the top as fast as I can, but I am not in it for the journey. Unfortunately I think that sums up my view on life too often.

This year I really want to make an effort to slow down more and look busy less. I want to take a coffee break in the middle of the day, watch an episode of Gilmore Girls without working on my computer simultaneously, and have a full conversation and not feel guilty about it, because I don't have to look or be busy every moment that I'm not sleeping.

This post was initially titled "coffee worth slowing down for" and I was going to talk about my Chemex and how it makes the best coffee, but the more and more I thought about that post, the more I realized that there were things in my life that I was missing because I was too busy rushing around and it wasn't fair for me to try to convince you guys that coffee is worth slowing down for, when there were a lot of other things I needed to be slowing down for that I wasn't. But, I'm learning. I'm slowly, but surely learning the importance of taking a minute to just be. To not feel the necessity to make to-do lists (I'm mildly obsessed), make plans, or think any thoughts at all is such a far gone concept for me that this is definitely going to be a process.

The first step I am taking in trying to slow down, is to be more intentional when I am drinking and making my coffee. And goodness gracious, I promise, this Chemex coffee maker makes it so beyond worth slowing down for. If you've never had a pour over before, you're missing out. Some point in the last year I switched from waking up to a pot of batch brewed coffee on our classic little 12 cup machine, to exclusively preparing myself one cup using the Chemex. It might seem like too many steps to take on before getting caffeine in your system, but it really takes no time at all and once you've done it a few times, it will be second nature. I highly recommend getting this kettle. I was formerly just boiling water in a sauce pan and it's really difficult to properly pour the water over the grounds that way. Fortunately my mother heard about this dilemma and gifted us one as a housewarming gift when we moved to Chicago and we are so, so grateful. It's made things a whole heck of a lot smoother in the morning (less scorching incidences).

The constant battle between slowing down and being busy (whether for looks or legit hustling) is real. And being a compulsive multi-tasker struggling with some major ADD, slowing down is difficult. In 2017 I want to stop and smell the roses (or coffee) as often as possible and stop feeling the need to rush. I want to embrace the journey and not feel pressed for time.

Fingers crossed, coffee in hand, cheers to trying.

I hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season so far! May the rest of your 2016 be filled with coffee, gingerbread cookies, peppermint chocolate everything, and little moments to just breath and be. Merry Christmas, loves!

What are some ways you are trying to slow down? Did you ever feel like being busy made you seem important?

Hey there! I'm Jenna and I love sharing my passion for nutrition with others! Here you'll find recipes and words that I hope inspire you to live your best life and find a healthy relationship with food. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and take a look around. I'm certain we're about to be friends.